{"id":17279,"date":"2016-06-25T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-06-25T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/?p=17279"},"modified":"2020-03-26T03:57:59","modified_gmt":"2020-03-26T07:57:59","slug":"gender-neutral-change-for-canadas-national-anthem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/2016\/06\/25\/gender-neutral-change-for-canadas-national-anthem\/","title":{"rendered":"Gender-neutral change for Canada’s national anthem"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Patriotic<\/a>

Patriotic display at a Maple Leafs-Jets game. Photo: Maria Casacalenda<\/a>, Creative Commons, some rights reserved<\/p><\/div>\n

The lyrics of Canada\u2019s national anthem could soon change, ever so slightly. The House of Commons has passed a bill that will change the line in the first verse of “O Canada” from \u201cTrue patriot love, in all thy sons command,\u201d to a gender-neutral \u201cin all of us command.\u201d The bill was not introduced by the governing Liberal Party, but was a private bill introduced by an individual Member of Parliament (MP), Mauril Belanger–a Liberal who represents the Ottawa-Vanier constituency. This was Belanger\u2019s second attempt with the bill; it was defeated the last time. There is however a sense of legacy and urgency with his effort this time though. Belanger was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease) late in 2015 and his health has declined rapidly since then. He was present in the House for the final and third reading vote but is now confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak.<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Mauril<\/a>

MP Mauril B\u00e9langer spearheaded the bill for the lyrics change. Photo: Earl Andrew<\/a>, public domain<\/p><\/div>\n

Several Conservative MPs voted against the Belanger bill, wanting to keep the \u201csons\u201d in “O Canada.” Their arguments include that the word sons was inserted in 1913 out of respect for soldiers fighting in World War I when Canadians fought as a separate unit for the first time in the famous Battle of Vimy Ridge. Before then, the lyrics were the gender neutral yet rather cumbersome to sing \u201ctrue patriot love, thou dost in us command.\u201d There\u2019s a problem with that argument, though. World War I did not begin until 1914 and the Battle of Vimy Ridge did not happen until 1917.<\/p>\n

\"Composer<\/a>

Calixa Lavallee wrote the music in 1880. Image: 1967 portrait by Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Back at Place-des-Arts metro station in Montreal (detail). Photo: Jean Gagnon<\/a>, Creative Commons, some rights reserved<\/p><\/div>\n

The 1913 reference to fighting sons commanding our patriotism was not the first variation of “O Canada.” The music was written in 1880 by Quebec City composer Calixa Lavall\u00e9e and the French lyrics by Sir Adolphe-Basil Routhier. Lavall\u00e9e has a village in southern Quebec named after him. Originally called \u201cChant Nationale,\u201d “O Canada” was actually commissioned for the 1880 St. Jean Baptiste day (Quebec\u2019s provincial holiday) celebrations in Quebec City. The song was very popular in Quebec but among Anglophone Canadians of mostly British heritage, “God Save The Queen” (or King) and “The Maple Leaf Forever” were usually used as unofficial national anthems. The first English lyrics did not appear until 1901 in Toronto, as a patriotic religious hymn for choral performance written by Thomas B. Richardson.<\/p>\n

In 1909, the Canadian edition of Collier\u2019s <\/em>magazine held a contest to create an English version of “O Canada.” The winner from the 350 entries was written by Mrs. Mercy E. Powell McCulloch. Mrs. McCulloch\u2019s version may have won the top prize, but the popularity of her song didn\u2019t last. Ewing Buchan, a Vancouver bank manager wrote a version for a service club he was a member of and it became popular on Canada\u2019s west coast. The Buchan lyrics are printed as an alternative version in the 1936 edition of the Anglican (Episcopal) Church of Canada\u2019s hymnal. Anglicans aside, the Buchan version didn\u2019t gain widespread popularity.<\/p>\n

\"Robert<\/a>

Robert Stanley Weir wrote the English lyrics to “O Canada” in 1908 Photo: Le Monde illustr\u00e9<\/a>, public domain<\/p><\/div>\n

The English lyrics that did stick were written in 1908 by Montreal lawyer Robert Stanley Weir. There are actually four verses and the first verse is usually the only one ever sung.<\/p>\n

With this imminent change in our national anthem, could Canadians expect further changes to it in the future? The French version contains far more militaristic and Christian lyrics than the English version. Canada isn\u2019t a particularly militaristic country, and a changing society has lessened the prominence of religion of any form. The pre-1980 English lyrics did not contain the line \u201cGod keep our land, glorious and free\u201d in the refrain, but rather just said \u201cO Canada, glorious and free.\u201d The addition is reminiscent of adding \u201cOne nation, under God\u201d to the Pledge of Allegiance in the US back in 1954.<\/p>\n

Making “O Canada” the official national anthem was an 18-year ordeal. There were 12 attempts to pass legislation in Parliament starting in 1962. Finally, in 1980, The National Anthem Act<\/em> was passed. Over the past 20 years, other legislators have attempted gender-neutralize “O Canada” by removing \u201cin all thy sons command.\u201d Now that Belanger\u2019s bill has been passed by the elected House of Commons, it goes on to the unelected (that\u2019s a topic for another time) Senate. With the summer recess nearing, it isn\u2019t likely to be passed or defeated in the Senate until September.<\/p>\n

Here’s Anne Murray singing “O Canada” entirely in English at the opening of the Toronto Skydome (now the Rogers Centre) stadium when it opened in 1989.<\/p>\n